Finding the ideal location for your screens digital signage is a complex and tedious task as there are so many parameters to take into account: target audience, technical constraints, light, content... This can prove to be mission impossible when the objectives of the project are not clear. However, it is a strategic step, due to the relatively permanent nature of the installation of a screen, but also to the effort, money and time invested. Therefore, asking yourself the right questions to properly position your screens is crucial, as is avoid location errors. For the study of your potential locations, and the analysis of your locations, here is some tips for positioning your dynamic screens!
#1 Choose high-traffic areas for your screens
Unless you are targeting an audience whose travel habits you are fully aware of and which differ from the majority, Choose locations that have regular traffic (statistically, screens in such an area are more likely to be seen !). This seems obvious, and yet, it is not uncommon to see screens installed in areas that are not very busy, or facing mainly deserted areas. The position of the screens may be the result of an old configuration of the place but no longer adapted to the new one, cleaning agents (or employees bothered by the light) were able to turn the screen to better do their job. It is therefore important to regularly check that the screen is oriented towards populated areas, and readjust the angle and position if necessary.
#2 Size and purpose of a display screen
” The bigger the screen, the better the message will get through ”... that's wrong! There are so many different cases that it is impossible to generalize all situations! One remark, however: we are absorbing more and more information from our smartphones, yet the screens are relatively small! Waist racing is not a necessity, it is better to Understand the uses : if the visitor is required to be near or very close to the screen, a small screen will be very suitable, and will even be more effective, especially if a lot of information is transmitted, and even more so if the screen is generally used by only one person at a time (large, unpleasant eye movements will then be avoided). On the contrary, a large dynamic display screen will make it possible to display larger texts, visible from further away, to reach several people at the same time, and attract the eye more easily. Take care to adapt this to the context, but Choose small screens over waiting areas, in which the visitor will be near the screen and looking for detailed information (near the products for example) and The large screens in the passage areas, or at least in high-traffic areas to attract the attention of as many people as possible.
#3 Digital signage advice: context takes precedence
Your target audience, i.e. the people you want to reach, have a mission! Rarely do they wander the streets, shops, or corporate corridors looking for screens they could stare at for hours on end. Rather, they are tasked with a particular task (do not forget anything on the shopping list, find a particular product, bring a document to the accounting office, make themselves a coffee...) and are focused on this specific task. In this context, screens will appear invisible, or at least without impact. On the other hand, once the mission is completed, it's another story, the concentration disappears, the mind is freed and becomes more receptive to the messages around.
Isn't this the perfect time and place to expose your audience to a message? Obviously, this requires a good knowledge of your target, either acquired beforehand, or detectable through an observation period.
#4 Take the place of your targets
It is obviously not possible to position screens on all the free walls of a place, an establishment, a room... and thus hope that the messages will be seen. A much more interesting alternative would be to walk around the room to be equipped and ask yourself: what will the target person do there? What will she be thinking about? Where will she naturally look? Will she be on the move or in a waiting position? The screens in waiting areas and passage areas do not have the same impacts or goals.
In the case of a supermarket, for example in the car department: a person in front of motor oils will necessarily think of their car, so a screen placed next to the oils could promote another product concerning the car...
Likewise, at the counter, or after the checkout line, when the shopping list is completely crossed out and going back to the store is forbidden, is it really time to promote a product sold inside? Perhaps, if they are sold at the cash register, or simply a “message for the road”, a “message for the next time” would probably be preferable.
Identify when your target audience “will need” the information, and give it to them at that time. In addition to giving more impact to these messages, people will also be more grateful to you.
#5 Follow the right signs!
In terms of screen positioning, as well as creating content to be broadcast, be inspired by display systems that work! An excellent system could be that of road signs: no superfluous, the right sign in the right place, enough signs to not make the driver feel lost, or underinformed, not too much either to avoid confusing or overloading him and thus risk that he no longer reads them. The example deserves a few seconds of analysis: a simple and effective color code, a few clear words, the main thing, a font that can be read from a distance, in large characters, pictograms to illustrate the message. The idea conveyed by the sign is understandable with a simple look, without stopping or even slowing down. And when the message is long, it is divided into several shorter ones, which are displayed, one at a time, in a logical order. There are undoubtedly some lessons to be learned!
Screen placement: what is the importance?
Differences in demographics, personality, or mentality of visitors between two distinct locations or audiences can cause large differences in behavior and be reflected in how people move, what information is expected, and how screens are viewed. A good understanding of the targeted people is therefore necessary to ensure that the right message is broadcast on digital signage screens positioned in the right places.
Great content on a poorly placed screen is likely to have as much of an effect as poor content on a perfectly placed screen, or content that's aimed at the wrong people. That is to say none. Beyond identifying the target of its communication, detecting the best locations for its screens or creating the best possible content, it is crucial to link all these elements together and to integrate them into the overall communication strategy put in place.
It is this practice that will lead to the best results... in relation to the objectives, of course!
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